Canada

Canada Federal Skilled Trades Program

The Canadian Federal Skilled Trades program allows skilled workers with experience in a selected number of trades to gain legal permanent residence in Canada.

Eligibility requirements
Applicants for the Canadian Federal Skilled Trades program must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Must have at least 24 months of skilled work experience in Canada which was gained in the 5 years leading up to the application, and which must have been gained under a valid work permit/visa (unless exempt) 
• Must have experience which meets the specific job requirements of the trade, as set out in Canada's National Occupation Classification List
• Must meet the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) requirements detailedelow 
• Must have a Canadian full time job offer for a period of at least 12 months, OR a qualification certificate in their trade issued by a provincial or territorial authority in Canada 
• Must plan to live outside of Quebec

Work experience

Applicants must have at least 24 months of full time work experience – meaning 30 hours per week or more, for a total of 3120 hours – or the equivalent amount in part time work experience, which must have been gained in the last 5 years.

The experience must have been gained in one of the following major groups on Canada's National Occupation Classification List. The first 2 or 3 numbers of each occupation's NOC code indicates its major group.

• 72: industrial, electrical and construction trades 
• 73: maintenance and equipment operation trades 
• 82: supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production, 
• 92: processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators, 
• 632: chefs and cooks, and 
• 633: butchers and bakers.

English and/or French language skills

Applicants must have reasonable proficiency in English, French, or both languages. To prove this applicants must provide test results from the following language test providers on their Express Entry profile BEFORE they can apply for a visa:

• The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), OR; 
• The International English Language Testing System (IELTS), OR; 
• The Test d’évaluation de français (TEF)

Applicants must score at least CLB level 5 for the speaking and listening components, and CLB level 4 for the reading and writing components.